In the National Basketball Association (NBA), foreign players—also known as international players—are those who were born outside of the United States.
[457][458][459][460] In some borderline cases, the NBA takes into consideration whether a player desires to be identified as international.
Croft, who was the first Canadian player to earn a scholarship to a major U.S. basketball college,[461] played one season for the Texas Chaparrals in the ABA.
Although Duncan is a United States citizen,[462] the NBA considers him an international player.
Aside from the "Big Three" of Duncan, Ginóbili and Parker, the number of international players in the Spurs roster also grew in the 2000s.